The new Dark Mage's secret
by Excalibur13
Summary: Completely redone! Totally worth your time. My 3rd FanFic! R


**Disclaimer: I do not own Avalon Web of Magic, that belongs to Rachel Roberts. I only own my characters and their bondeds.**

**This FanFic takes place between Heart of Avalon and Dark Mage. I want to thank Soozie Quixotic for inspiring me. **

Kita- 13-year-old girl with long light blond hair and silver eyes

Aslan- 14-year-old boy with shaggy, dark blond hair and blue eyes

Lyndsie- 13-year-old girl with wavy white hair and green eyes

Kristal- 13-year-old girl with curly dark brown hair and yellow eyes

Prologue

The raven-haired girl stood on the crest of the hill, staring at the trees in front of her. She breathed in the fresh, earthy scents of Ravenswood. Mist curled around her and a large black mistwolf materialized next to her, the white star on his chest and white paws shining cleanly.

_"The jeeran have almost been spotted by tourists again."_ Dreamer reported.

Adriane sighed. "Who was leading the tour?"

_"Kara. She easily distracted the group, though."_

The black-haired girl nodded. "Good. Was her cousin there? I heard she was visiting."

_"She was on the tour."_ The black mistwolf confirmed.

Before Adriane could reply, a translucent figure appeared, shimmering in the sunlight. Ambia floated toward the mage and her bonded.  
_"Ambia."_ Dreamer's ears pricked as he greeted the air Fairimental.

Ambia wasted no time, for hers was limited. "There has been a strange… magic release somewhere on… the magic web." She struggled in and out of existence on earth. "We believe that it has… triggered the magic in other humans. We have discovered four new mages in the Stonehill area… but so has the Dark Sorceress… She is trying to find them… but you must get to the mages first…" at that, the Fairimental faded away.

_"New mages?"_ Dreamer asked, puzzled.

Adriane shrugged. "We should tell the others."

The black mistwolf nodded and they raced back to Ravenswood manor, entering the back door.

Chapter 1

Kita raced into Stonehill Junior High just as the bell rang. Her adopted brother, Aslan, followed her in, his shaggy blond hair greatly resembling a lion's mane, which may have been the truth behind his name.

They rushed to their classrooms, not having enough time to find their lockers. While running, Kita stuffed her dark blue sweater into her green camouflage backpack. She was looking down, so she didn't see the two girls heading her way. She glanced up in surprise as one, a blond, accidently knocked her over. Her dark brown-haired friend succeeded in keeping her balance and was now helping up her friend.

Kita sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "Ow." She felt where the floor had met her head.

The blond wore a pink vest with a faux fur-lined hood over a white long-sleeved shirt, white jeans, and pink boots with the same faux fur rims. A white, pink, and orange teardrop-shaped jewel hung around her neck by a silver chain.

The blond-haired girl helped her to her feet. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think." Kita felt dazed, but otherwise fine.

"Alright." The blond-headed girl turned to her curly haired friend, "Come on Kristal. We have to get to homeroom."

Kita quietly found homeroom, half-following Kristal and the blonde-haired girl. She took her seat at the back of the classroom, where there were a few empty desks. She sat silently throughout the class, listening closely.

Lunchtime reunited her with Aslan, who had saved her a seat in outside lunchroom. Many picnic tables and trashcans dotted the leaf-coated lawn. Fall had brought cold winds and changing leaves.

Strangely enough, Kita wore a black tank top, camouflage cargo pants, and black sneakers; her light blond hair held up in a ponytail.

Aslan wore a silver jacket over a red shirt, jeans, and lime green skater shoes. A silver and blue, claw-shaped stone hung around his tanned neck by a leather strip; he had gotten it from a friend he had known for his entire life.

Kita noticed a group of kids standing around two girls, who were holding bright blue flyers. She left her brother and pushed to the center of the small crowd, standing in front of the girls. The first girl, who had short, curly red hair and hazel eyes, wore a forest green turtleneck under a thin, white jacket, khaki pants, and snow-white shoes. A rainbow, heart-shaped jewel was secured to a silver chain bracelet.

The second girl had glossy black hair and glittering dark eyes. She had on a black down vest over a black long-sleeved shirt, dark jeans, and black hiking boots. Fastened to a black and turquoise chain bracelet, hung a silver paw-shaped stone. She handed Kita a blue flyer that read:** Don't forget! Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve has winter tours! New species and amazing views!**

Underneath was a picture of a black wolf, a leopard, a golden brown ferret, and a snowy owl with gold, turquoise, and lavender tipped wings.

Kita read the flyer all the way back to her table, where Aslan still sat, waiting patiently.

"What's that?" the shaggy-haired boy asked in his deep voice, looking over her shoulder to see the paper. After reading it, he continued, "Ravenswood… sounds cool! We could probably head over there after school." He whipped out his red and black cell phone and called mom, telling her of their plans.

The iron gates of Ravenswood loomed before Kita as she and Aslan reached the preserve. They pushed open the gates and walked across a lawn to a large manor. The massive building looked ancient, its dark windows staring uninvitingly at the passing people.

Kita saw the blond-haired girl from school and Kristal standing on the manor's steps, talking. The brown-haired girl spotted Kita and Aslan first, pointing them out to her friend.

The blond turned their way, waving. "Hey! Are you here for the next tour?"

"Sure, we could join." Aslan shouted back, his shaggy, dark blond hair blowing in the breeze. They headed over to the manor and talked with the girls for a while as other people showed up.

"Hey," Kita just remembered. "I never caught your name." she told the blond-haired girl.

"I'm Kara. This is my cousin, Kristal."

"My name is Kita. And this is my brother, Aslan." She introduced her and her blond-haired brother.

"It's nice to meet you." Kara told them, flipping a lock of golden blond hair out of her blue eyes. She then stood and greeted the waiting tourists, beginning the tour. She crossed a great lawn, littered with red, brown, and gold leaves, and led the group onto a forest trail.

Turning, she was about to announce something, but a loud roar interrupted her, piercing the air. A huge spotted cat jumped out of the bushes on the left side of the trail, right in front of Kita. It- no, _she_, as Kita confirmed- growled deeply, causing her to step back nervously.

"Everyone, don't panic." Kara spoke above the frightened murmurs of scared tourists. "Every animal in this preserve is completely safe, but remember to respect wild animals. Here, I'll show you." The blond-haired girl walked in front of Kita and kneeled down before the snarling leopard. She reached out tentatively and touched the big cat's nose, allowing the animal to sniff her hand. The leopard calmed down and even licked Kara's hand.

The people clapped excitedly, complementing their guide for her skills.

_"Thanks, Lyra. That was a good performance."_ Kita could've sworn she heard Kara whisper to the leopard, though the guide's mouth was closed.

_"It was good, wasn't it."_ She was almost certain the cat replied. She shook her head in confusion, firmly telling herself that animals couldn't talk.

The tour continued, Kara pointing out different species such as deer, snowshoe hares, and a snowy owl that looked like the one on the blue flyer.

Kita enjoyed the run-through of Ravenswood, for the animals were interesting, some brave and some timid. She loved the black wolf that had appeared from the forest with another guide named Adriane, who was the black-haired girl who had handed out flyers. She had introduced the wolf as Dreamer, who had white paws and a white star on his chest.

On the way back to the manor, Kita spotted something shimmering through the trees. She was at the back of the group and no one was looking, so she slipped off the path, heading toward the shining place. She emerged into a vast clearing after passing a gigantic stone that pointed toward the sky. A blue lake lay on the left side of the field and the other side was littered with dead leaves, surrounded by leaf-less trees.

Kita felt a sudden sense of peace and serenity. She traveled down to the edge of the lake, staring at her reflection in the water. The silver-eyed face that stared back at her was distorted and swirling, as though something was disrupting the surface of the lake.

Kita glanced up and saw a deer at the water's edge, drinking. But something was weird about the creature: it had green fur, purple stripes, and long ears! She gaped at the deer-like creature until it spotted her and, terrified, raced into the trees. She slowly stood up and tiptoed toward the edge of the forest, but she stepped on something sharp. Removing her foot, she saw a small onyx stone sticking out of the mud. She reached down, crouching, and pulled the rock out of the ground, rubbing away the excess dirt from its shiny black surface.

"There you are!" Kita spun around to find Kara crossing the meadow, clearly agitated. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Sorry, I sa-" she trailed off. Kara probably wouldn't believe her, so she stuffed the stone in her back pocket and told her, "I just saw the lake and wanted to check it out."

"Well, this place off-limits to tourists. We need to get back to the group." The blond-haired guide led Kita back into the forest, rejoining the group on the trail. "Found her." Kara announced.

Aslan grabbed Kita by the arm. "What were you thinking?" he hissed.

"I saw this lake and this green and purple deer and found this cool black rock. Look, it's shiny." She pulled the stone out of her back pocket and showed the shaggy-haired boy.

He barely glanced at it. "What green deer?"

"Green with purple stripes. Oh, and long ears, too." She corrected her brother.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. It's crazy." Kita shook her head.

"Well, okay…" he obviously didn't buy, but decided not to ask any more questions. "Let's just catch up to the group. We're being left behind."

She nodded and quietly followed the blond-haired boy, rejoining the others. Kara was glaring at them when they caught up, but she rolled her blue eyes and walked across the great lawn to the manor, announcing that the tour was over.

As the rest of tourists broke up and left, Kara pulled Kita to the side. "What did you see when you were in the glade?" her voice was serious. "I want the truth."

There was no evading the question, so she confessed, "I saw this green and purple deer-thing and I found this cool shiny rock."

Kara stared closely at the stone. Kita could have sworn the scalloped teardrop around her neck sparkled with red and orange light. She glanced over to Aslan's claw-shaped stone, which glittered in the sun; her jewel sparkled again.

Aslan came over as the blond-haired guide ordered, "You must come with me."

She led them both into the manor, where they climbed up the stairs, walked down the hall, and turned into a large room filled with books. Adriane and the red-haired girl from school were there, apparently researching something. A golden-brown ferret was staring at a computer screen. They all looked up in surprise as Kara led Kita and Aslan into the room.

"What are they doing here?" the redhead asked.

"I think we found two of our mages." Kara stated.

_"What are you talking about?" _the ferret seemed to say. Kita could almost hear the words in her head.

"The mages. Remember, Ambia said that the magic release triggered the magic in other humans." Adriane spoke to the ferret, which was weird since animals couldn't talk.

Aslan was looking around the room, gazing in awe at all the books. "Wow, this is so cool!" he started rummaging through the lower shelves. "How'd you guys get all these books?"

"They were already here." The redhead answered, closing an elaborately decorated, blue leather-bound book.

"Sorry, you could leave Aslan in a bookstore for days, come back, and he'll be just as happy as when you left him." Kita laughed. "Oh, my name's Kita, by the way."

"I'm Emily. This is Adriane, and I you've already met Kara." The curly- redhead said.

"It's nice to meet you, but what's a mage and who's Ambia?" Kita asked, puzzled.

Emily was about to answer her when Kristal called down the hall. "Kara! Kara, where are you?" she shouted. "I need a ride home."

The blond-haired girl hurried out the door- just to slam straight into her cousin. "Ow."

Kristal wobbly got to her feet, helping Kara up. "Sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She replied.

Kara's cousin stepped into the library-like room, yellow eyes sparkling under her curly, dark brown bangs. "Cool room! I've never seen this one before. Why haven't you shown me the library?" she asked.

"Because it's off-limits to tourists." Adriane growled, obviously not to fond of Kristal.

"Hey," Kara protested. "My cousin's an exception."

The glossy raven-haired girl stepped close to the blonde's face. "She doesn't know about magic. She can't be here." Kita just barely heard the conversation.

"So?" Kara retorted, stepping away.

Adriane hissed, but didn't argue any more.

Suddenly, a large black wolf leaped into the room. Dreamer raced around Adriane's legs, whimpering and whining as though he was in pain. The black-haired girl knelt down and held the pup still. "What's wrong, Dreamer?"

The black wolf howled in pain, ears flat. _"Magic…painful magic."_

Kita couldn't take it anymore and she was about to speak up, but Kristal spoke first, "Is that dog talking?" she squeaked.

"I knew I've been hearing something." Aslan chimed in from the other side the library.

"Me, too." Kita found her chance to say something.

"All three of you can hear him?" Kara asked, while Emily and Adriane tended to Dreamer. Kita, Aslan, and Kristal all nodded.

"It's going to be okay, Dreamer. Emily will help." Adriane reassured the wolf. She turned to her red-haired friend. "Emily?"

The girl had her hands hovering over Dreamer's body. "I can't find the problem. It's like there's nothing wrong with him."

"But he's clearly in pain." Adriane protested crossly.

"I know, but-"

"Well, if we find where the signal is being emitted, then we can shut it down." Aslan suggested, crouching down in front of Dreamer. The wolf pup crawled to him, curling between his legs and whimpering softly. The claw-shaped stone around Aslan's neck started to glow with silvery-blue light, covering the black wolf pup in a shield-like substance. However, the thick-haired boy didn't seem to notice, he stared down gently at Dreamer, who now had a look of wolfish peace on his face.

"Whoa." Adriane stated flatly as Aslan touched the pup's head, blue light swirling out of his palm. The light and shield faded and Dreamer stood, perfectly fine.

"What happened?" Emily asked incredulously.

_"I'm fixed."_ Dreamer howled happily, bouncing around.

"I don't know." Aslan whispered, thick blond hair falling in front of his blue eyes as he stared at his hands.

The ferret opened his mouth actually spoke out aloud. "If I may, perhaps Aslan is a natural protector. With his claw stone and everything."

"Protector…claw stone." The golden-haired boy whispered. "I like it."

"Well you should get used to it, Mr. Protector." Kara giggled. "This has only just begun."


End file.
